EXCLUSIVE — A national medical watchdog group has filed a federal civil rights complaint against a major hospital system in the heart of Texas, alleging that its diversity contracting policies illegally discriminate on the basis of race.
In a letter sent Monday to the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, the group Do No Harm accused the Tarrant County Hospital District, which operates as JPS Health Network, of violating federal anti-discrimination laws through its vendor selection process for consulting services.
JPS’s request for proposals for healthcare strategy consulting allegedly gives explicit preference to “minority, woman, and veteran-owned business enterprises” and requires other vendors to document “good-faith efforts” to subcontract with such firms, according to the complaint. The network also subjects contractors to ongoing evaluations of their “minority participation,” which Do No Harm says effectively penalizes white-owned businesses…